FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 8-27-08

AASU Volleyball Begins Will Condon Era On Friday, 8-27-08

A coaching change, a team coming off of a losing season and a squad with more newcomers than starters - it harkens back to the 1999 campaign that saw AASU volleyball usher in a new era. That squad won its first 29 matches en route to a school-record best 36-5 mark and a rise to prominence, not only in the Peach Belt Conference but regionally and nationally as well.

New head coach Will Condon knows what it takes to bring the Pirates back to that level after leading USC Aiken to back-to-back PBC Championships and NCAA Regionals appearances. He has two All-Conference performers returning in 2008, as well as the school’s single-season record holder in digs, while also bringing in a solid class of newcomers that upgrade the talent at every position on the court.

Both of the Pirates’ returning All-PBC performers find themselves at new positions for the upcoming season, but are eminently capable of keeping up the performance level. After an aborted senior season that lasted just seven matches, Rindy Vidovich returns for her fifth season as a Pirate and is the lone senior on the squad this season. The 2006 All-PBC player has played on the right side and the outside during her career and will see action in the middle this year for the Pirates.

Junior Gwen Clarke enjoyed a breakout season as a sophomore, earning All-PBC honors as an outside hitter, but will move to the right side for the Pirates in 2008. She closed out the 2007 season strong, including collecting a career-high 23 kills in the team’s final match of the season. Junior defensive specialist Nicole Yates set a new single-season dig record for AASU with 572 and will again serve as the team’s primary defensive option. Sophomore Hannah Segebart also closed out the 2007 season strongly, averaging 10.25 assists per game in the Pirates’ last 12 matches of the season, and has the inside track on the starting setter position, while sophomore Brendyce Budd will continue to improve on the outside after a solid debut season which saw her rank among AASU’s all-time leaders in digs per game for a season (3.62).

Seven newcomers join these five returnees for the Pirates in 2008. A pair of teammates from South Florida CC in outside hitter Amy Birkemeier (5-9, Jr., Columbus Grove, Ohio) and middle hitter Michele Remlinger (6-0, Jr., Kalida, Ohio) give the Pirates much-needed experience at two key offensive positions. Both players were All-Sun Coast Conference honorees for two years

Another experienced newcomer is junior setter Marina Marinova (6-0, Jr., Sofia, Bulgaria), a skilled player who was a defensive specialist for two seasons at Arkansas-Little Rock, but can play every position on the court.

Four freshmen round out the 2008 roster for the Pirates. Outside hitter Torrie Bevolo (5-8, Fr., St. Louis, Mo.) earned All-State honors at Incarnate Word Academy, while middle hitter Casie Richards (6-0, Fr., Venice, Fla.) played for 2006 state champion Venice HS. Libero Casey Howett (5-7, Fr., Atlanta, Ga.) set the Georgia state record for digs per game while playing for Whitewater HS, and libero/setter Natalie Edgeworth (5-7, Fr., Atlanta, Ga.) ranked sixth in the state of Georgia’s class 5A in digs.

A new region alignment means the Pirates are battling with teams from the South Atlantic Conference and Conference Carolinas for NCAA postseason play. Twenty-seven of the 31 matches this season for the Pirates are region contests, with nine matches coming against teams that qualified for the NCAA Championships a year ago.

- Pirates -